1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the production of stable metal oxide sols which can be used for forming metal oxide coatings on substrates.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The instant invention relates to the preparation of stable metal oxide sols using metal alkoxides as a starting material.
It is known that metal alkoxides can be hydrolyzed to form metal oxides, and the metal oxide precipitates can be recovered as powders. An example of such a procedure is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,543,341 to E. A. Barringer et al. It is well known that in this type of procedure, in which a metal alkoxide is hydrolyzed to form a metal oxide powder, problems of agglomeration can occur (see "Processing and Characterization of ZrO.sub.2 and Y-Doped ZrO.sub.2 Powders", Bruce Fegley, Jr. et al., American Ceramics Society Bulletin, Vol. 64, No. 8, pp. 1115-1120 (1985)). Examples of foreign patent applications which relate to the production of zirconium oxide powders by the hydrolysis of zirconium alkoxide and alcohol with the eventual growth of the resulting particles are Japanese Patent Publication Nos. 62/91,421 and 62/226,816.